South Bay Stone Cleaning: Hire a Professional

Do you want to clean your stone surfaces yourself?  You might want to rethink that prospect...

Professional Stone Restoration and Cleaning in Manhattan Beach| 310-545-8750

Stone Cleaning:  Don't Put Your Stone in Peril

What do marble, limestone, travertine, granite, and slate all have in common besides the fact that they are all stone types?  They are all expensive if you have to replace them. But what does replacing have to do with cleaning your stone yourself?  Well, for one, without meaning to, you can severely damage your stone if you don't know what you're doing.

One popular home cleaning blog gushes about the cleaning effects of white vinegar, especially on surfaces like marble.  While a bit of white vinegar is good for cleaning hardwood floors, or some forms of tile cleaning, it should never be used on a stone surface such as marble, limestone, or travertine.  If you do use it on these stone types, you run the risk of permanently damaging your stone.

How Can Vinegar Hurt Marble, Travertine or Limestone?

Limestone, travertine, and marble are all part of the calcium carbonate family of stone.  As a result, they are extremely susceptible to anything acidic.  According to legend, when Hannibal was marching on Rome, the Romans blocked the passes of the Alps with boulders made of limestone.  Hannibal poured casks of vinegar on them, and dissolved the stone away.  While that story may or may not be true, the fact is that acid and calcium based stones do not and should not mix.  So how do you clean your stone yourself.

While we can't stress the importance of hiring a professional stone cleaning service to clean your stone, there are some simple do it yourself tips to clean your stone yourself between visits.  So here is a to do list and a do not do list.

Do:

• Place throw rugs or mats at the entrance of each room that has stone floors.  These rugs or mats will help to stone grit and dirt from scratching your surface.
• Use a soft cloth dust mop or a soft bristled broom to clean your stone floor.
• Damp mop your stone floor once a mop then blot it dry with a clean white towel.
• Consider get stone sealing done after it has been cleaned.

Don't:

• Wet mop your floor.  If your stone is wet, you have a good chance of microbes damaging the stone surface, or of trace amounts of chlorine causing the same effect.
• Use harsh chemicals or anything acidic on your stone.  This includes cleaning solutions such as bleach or ammonia, but it also includes common items such as coffee, orange juice, vinegar, and red wine.  If you spill anything like this on your stone, clean it up immediately.
• Use any household cleaners.  In addition to harsh chemicals, a lot of polishing products also contain wax and oil, which can dull the surface of your stone.

As you see, stone is surprisingly sensitive.  So take no chances.  Call a stone cleaning service in Manhattan Beach.
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Morris Cleaning & Restoration
1007 N.Sepulveda Blvd. #1204
Manhattan Beach, CA 90267
(310) 545-8750
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